Review: Derren Brown fantastic in 'Secret' show at Linda Gross Theater Special

New York
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On May 20, acclaimed mentalist Derren Brown performed at the Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater in New York, for a great turnout.

The British mentalist briefly opened up about his sexuality, coming out at the age of 31 (which was liberating for him), and shared his background as a hypnotist, which he has been doing since the age of 19; moreover, he noted that he "studied magic to impress people." He claimed to not possess any supernatural powers. He immersed the crowed in his "Guess Who?" game, among many other exceptional demonstrations. A special moment was when he spoke about his grandfather's mystery box, where he showcased his sincere storytelling ability.

For Brown, audience participation was of utmost importance throughout the entire matinee show. He had the audience members stand up during various instances, and subsequently conducted some neat mind-reading activities (to the point where several matters were extremely sensitive), and he threw frisbees to ensure fairness. His only pet peeve was when an audience member was stomping his foot on the floor, where he politely asked him to stop, since mind-reading requires a great deal of concentration (especially since this was at a time when he was doing his mind-reading blindfolded).

Without giving too much away, and to respect Mr. Brown's wishes, this is a show that everybody needs to see live to believe. After a while, it did not matter how Brown was able to do all of these clever tricks. The audience was in total awe of him, as he left many people's jaws on the floor, and rightfully so. His presentation skills were extraordinary, and his British accent was eloquent, to the point where one would want to listen to him talk all day long. He truly was able to touch his audience on an emotional level, and while there were multiple things happening at once, he was able to tie in everything together quite well, thus leaving everybody in goosebumps.

Overall, Derren Brown was spectacular at his performance at the Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater. It was an outstanding one-man show, where he commanded the stage quite well, and he sustained the audience's attention for the whole duration (2.5 hours). The biggest secret is that Brown is not as well known in America as he is in England, however, after tonight, the "secret" deserves to be out. Brown is a brilliant and natural performer that can challenge any skeptic. Every fan of magic or mentalism deserves to see Derren Brown: Secret live, before it ends on June 25. His eclectic show was filled with suspense, mystery and excitement; moreover, his passion for his craft was evident. Brown earned five out of five stars for a job well done.